Recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in the growth of ultrathin films of two dimensional (2-D) crystalline materials. These ultrathin films of two dimensional (2-D) crystalline materials, referred to herein as 2-D films, can be grown on a metal catalyst that has been pre-coated on a substrate by decomposing the growth precursors using either thermal or plasma activation. Subsequent to the growth of the 2-D film, there is typically a need to delaminate and transfer the grown 2-D film onto another substrate. Despite the advances in growth technology, the transfer process remains a bottleneck causing defects in the form of cracks, folds, tears, wrinkles, etc. in the 2-D thin film during transfer. While a roll-to-roll transfer method has been developed for flexible substrates, it is not suitable for stiff substrates such as silicon and glass. Hence, there is a need for better wafer scale transfer methods for 2-D films.